March 29, 2009

C.R.E.A.M.

It is a sad fact, but money controls the world. People and organizations may try to fool us, but the ones that do not care about the bottom line will cease to exist in a capitalistic society.

Public relations people often forget about money. They think in terms of reputation, crisis management and brand loyalty. What do companies with excellent reputations, crisis management and brand loyalty all have in common? They make money consistently.

Let’s take a recent crisis management example from the sports world (sorry ladies).

People in football understand that winning is everything. Cutler may have gone to the pro bowl last year, but the Broncos were mediocre and missed the playoffs.

Cassell (the man Cutler was almost traded for), lead his team to a 11-5 record. That mark would have earned the Broncos a playoff spot. The Broncos would have been able to receive more players or draft picks in a Cutler/Cassell trade and would have been able to improve the team in other areas of need.

The Broncos saw an opportunity where they could have a winning quarterback and address other issues with the team quickly. This move could have gotten the Broncos back to the playoffs quicker and won them more games.

This would bring in additional ticket and merchandise sales, making the franchise more money.

Cutler needs to toughen up and realize his actions probably will cost him money when his contract is up. No one likes a whiny quarterback, especially one who can’t see reasoning behind winning faster.

The Broncos admitted their actions and their reasoning.

A blog from Yahoo Sports writer Charles Robinson claims the ball is in Cutler’s court and the Broncos have made their position known (Cutler is our man unless something better comes along).

Although the true winner of this PR mess is yet to be determined, it reaffirms that smart companies will try to do what it thinks is best for itself. These actions may be at the expense of some stakeholders, like employees.

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I’m not sure why you think PR professionals forget about money, when the point of everything we do is to try to protect the very relationships that allow the organization to continue operating and, yes, make money.

Also, watch out for sexist assumptions: I know plenty of women who are very interested in sports.

I have to agree with Dr. Gilpin on this one. I think a large driving force of the PR profession is to help the organization be succssful, thus accomplishing it’s mission to be profitable. PR pros do think in terms of reputuation, crisis managment and brand loyalty, but why? To make a profit. A company or organization’s reputation must generally be a posative one to be successful. Crisis management must be addressed because in the event of a crisis, the least amount of damage must be done in order to remain profitable. Brand loyalty = repeated use by consumers = profit. It does all come back to money, but I disagree that PR professionals forget about the bottom line.

Although PR professionals do care about reputation, crisis management and brand loyalty, I would also say they think in terms of money. We just worked on our budget for our companies last week. In regards to the situation, I think Cutler needs to stop being so dramatic. First, he gets paid millions of dollars for doing something he loves. Second, if the Broncos were talking about trading him, then maybe he should have took it as constructive criticism and stepped up his game a little bit. It all comes down to survival of the fittest. Of course a team is going to trade you in if you aren’t giving it your all or are not up to par. From the Broncos standpoint, having a better quarterback could result in winning more games which could result in more money. They need to think in terms of what’s best for the team as a whole- not for one individual. Money makes the world go round!

1. I did not mean for that come off as sexist. My sarcasm is somewhat difficult to detect online and I am sorry if I offended anyone.

And I guess the reason I think that money is forgotten is from an example I remember with Dr. Matera last semester. A company in Florida opened a high class club before it was ready basically to pay their bills and it flopped due to the poor tactics of the launch. I guess I am generalizing, but that sticks out in my mind.

2. I will meet you halfway. I feel PR people forget about the bottom line because they don’t always get to see it.

3. Thank you for actually talking about my example and I agree with you 100 percent.

I am sure you are aware the Broncos owner, Pat Bowlen, came out the other day and confirmed they are trading Cutler. I am glad this whole little game is almost over and I am excited to see what the Broncos get.